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Vintage Gibson 1977 Johnny Smith Archtop Solid Body Electric Guitar Blonde | Guitar Center
For some weird reason I keep looking at this. I talked to the store and it’s been sitting there since October. As far as condition, he said it’s good to go. No cracks, repairs, etc. Thinner neck profile, which isn’t necessarily a plus for me.
I’ve wanted one forever, probably since I saw McLaughlin play one in the 90s. I have something with almost identical specs, and it plays great, but I keep going back and forth about moving it on. My main hangup is that it’s a bit too acoustic sounding, but I’ve addressed that by fiddling with the pickup and strings.
Thoughts? Reasonable advice? Unreasonable advice? Has anyone here played it, by any chance?
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02-01-2023 03:51 PM
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The great thing about buying from GC is that you have a huge return window. Go ahead and buy it. At the very worst, you're out shipping costs.
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"Vintage Gibson 1977 Johnny Smith Archtop Solid Body Electric Guitar" Guitar Center has its issues, doesn't it?
Looks like a well played guitar. GC's return policy makes it a low risk purchase. Some sound more electric, some sound more acoustic. The price is more reasonable than you will usually find on Reverb. It's my dream archtop guitar.
Reasonable odds that someone here knows this instrument.
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It certainly is within the ballpark of money for the guitar. To me it agree JSanta you can always return it if it does not float to your liking. I would even not mind this except by the time I figure in sales taxes. The cost goes over $8000 and frankly in my case I would hold out till I can deal directly with a person and go get guitar and avoid cost I don't want to pay for. The other option is make them an offer. My guess is they have room to deal but who knows. The fact that it has no issues and is blond is clearly a huge plus and figure of the wood in the back is meaningless. This would be straight cut quarter-saw maple good hard stuff. In 1977 Johnny was still selling them at his store. Go buy it.
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I can’t speak to this Johnny Smith, but + 1 on GC being a low risk seller. It can be an annoying place to shop in person because the sales people are not very knowledgeable, but their prices are generally good and the return policy takes the anxiety out of used purchases.
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can't tell if it has a volute if thats's an issue for you
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I don't understand why it's advertised as a "Solid Body Electric Guitar".
It's got two large F-holes which look pretty deep to me.
Does it have a block, like a semi-hollow, or are they just stupid?
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"or are they just stupid?"
at the very least uninformed
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They're goin' to Arizona, but Sunday was a joke!
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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So let me ask you, if you feel the sound may be to acoustic and the neck profile probably wouldn't be desirable what is it about the Johnny Smith model that makes you want one?
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PS - I wonder what kind of pickup this is? Looks like a P90 in a gold floating enclosure. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
Last edited by Woody Sound; 02-02-2023 at 12:34 AM.
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All great stuff, thank you! I’ll carve out more time later to reply to other specifics, but this might be the definitive question. Originally Posted by skiboyny
The brutally honest answer is that I’m probably just being a fanboy. I’ve played long enough to know that the sound is usually up to me, not the gear.
I guess I romanticize the model because of where I was in life when I became aware of it, in combination with the music that was simultaneously getting burned into my mind.
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The blonde Johnny Smith is, to me, beautiful. I have one that seems to be a little earlier date, perhaps early to mid 70s. Made in Kalamazoo, no volute. It’s player grade, the name plate on the tailpiece is missing and there’s a surface crack near the F hole, and other dings. Seems to be all original, except a tone knob had been added. I actually like the thinner neck’s feel and prefer its more acoustic sound.
Bought it after spending a long afternoon at a shop playing it in different amps and comparing it to the Guild Johnny Smith, so I knew what I was getting. But with a liberal return policy, not much to risk, so I say go for it!
Strung it up with TI flat 13s and for a while it was my main guitar for chord melody. Not optimal, but for what it’s worth here’s a couple of clips done on a phone:
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Because the body woods are solid, not laminate. Originally Posted by sgcim
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That's a common thing with those. It's just a plastic plate that's glued onto the badge, and they tend to fall off with age. Notice that on the WesMo they finally got smart and now engrave the name right onto the metal badge. No cheap plastic to fall off. Originally Posted by JazzPadd
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Just lovely, plus the added benefit of sharing pretty much the same right hand position. Thank you! Originally Posted by JazzPadd
To everyone, thanks for all of the insight and supportive comments. The liberal return policy is definitely a factor. @wintermoon, the volute is less of a concern than the possibly thin neck, but I don't know what 70s Gibson thin means compared to present day thin.
I'm going to sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings.
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Interesting, thanks. Actually, it still has the what looks like ebony part attached to the tail piece, and I can see where the name plate was glued there. But the wood part alone is kinda nice, too. Good to see they now engrave the metal directly. I guess someone could make a plastic facsimile if I really needed that, but I’ll probably keep as is. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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That JS is lovely.
At first glance, it very much resembles the wood grain of my own 1977 blonde L5CES top and back. Kind of wide on the top and no fancy maple stripes at the back. No volute on my L5 either. But hey, if a 1977 (Norlin) blonde L5 was good enough for John Mayer, it was certainly good enough for me. It still is one of to go to guitars.
My 1977 has also a slimmer neck profile, much slimmer as my 2002 L5CT, but also surprisingly low and wide frets. A bit like fretless wonder frets of the Les Paul custom. Not sure about what is on the JS, it is hard to tell from the pics, but it might be a point of attention for you. What speaks for it IMHO are the floating BJB, the color natural, the condition. And the price (but I am from Europe). What is missing is a picture of the back of the guitar. It is a well played guitar, that is a good sign in my book. But there is a chance that the back and sides of the neck have lost finish due to honest play wear. My 1975 Les Paul Custom has that. I think that honest playwear is not a con. The description is really poor. Is there Y/N a case etc. If it was me, I would ask more info and pictures.
I think it can make a good buy !
The only thing that probably would bother me in the long term, is the tarnish of the gold plating of the tailpiece, the PU cover, and to a lesser extend, the pickguard backet. But that can be taken care of later. You have to get it first and decide later. Replating, replacing of use as is. NB I did replace the PU covers and the PG bracket of my 1977 L5. And I still have a brandnew L5CT tailpiece lying around...
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The original Johnny Smith pickups are not the same as BJB pickups. Johnny Smith pickups attach to the neck with a U-shaped bracket and have adjustable pole pieces (although the very early ones had the holes filled with fake tortoise shell so the pole pieces were not adjustable on those ones). BJB pickups attach to the pickguard and have a smooth top without exposed pole pieces. There may be differences in the electronics specs as well, but I don’t have that information. Originally Posted by hotpepper01
Keith
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I'm not sure it's ebony, I think it's some kind of resin. But I agree, I think it actually looks better without the cheap plastic name plate. Originally Posted by JazzPadd
Interesting, thanks. Actually, it still has the what looks like ebony part attached to the tail piece, and I can see where the name plate was glued there. But the wood part alone is kinda nice, too. Good to see they now engrave the metal directly. I guess someone could make a plastic facsimile if I really needed that, but I’ll probably keep as is.
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They just added more pictures, including the back. Originally Posted by hotpepper01
That is not a BJB pickup.
Gibson BJB Floating Neck Mount Pickup - Archtop Jazz Guitar | Reverb
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Whoa, take that to the bank! Originally Posted by hotpepper01
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Thank you, too, and wishing you all the best! Originally Posted by osloutah
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Thanks, good eye, and I’ll keep it as is. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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I had a '69, so I am familiar with that tailpiece. Originally Posted by JazzPadd
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